NWSL IS BACK, BABY 🇺🇲

It’s August 26th. Give us four minutes, we give you everything The Women’s Game.

Hi there, TWG readers!

I just got back from New York and New Jersey where I spent four days seeing my friends, recording with so many different people, and honestly having just the best time. I stayed at Rose’s apartment and we stayed up late talking, one of my all time favorite activities. I got to see lots of Sonnett, Kelley, and OF COURSE, Lynn. I love spending time with them all and am so grateful for the time I spent with them. 

We did so much while I was in New York. Last week, Rog and I did a live show with Chelsea FC Women — we got to speak with Sonia Bompastor, Mia Fishel, Aggie Beever Jones, and Erin Cuthbert. That show is live on our YouTube channel if you haven’t seen it yet! We had tons of laughs and I loved the venue — No One Home in NYC, which is like a social club for soccer fans. Check it out!

I also got to interview some players on Gotham FC, including Rose and Sonnett, which is dropping today on YouTube and our podcast feed. Speaking to them about their Olympics experience was awesome — I’m so proud of both of them and the journeys they’ve been on. Their last interview with Lynn and I was notoriously silly — so you’ll have to listen to find out if they cooperated with me this time. 

Stay tuned tomorrow for an all new VERY SPECIAL episode of Good Vibes, this week, with both Lynn and Becky. Make sure to SUBSCRIBE HERE to make sure you don’t miss it. And later this week, we have Arsenal’s Alessia Russo on Friendlies for Thursday. 

Thank you all so much for being here!

Love,
Sam

DENIM SHORTS AND A BIG FLAME: Sam Mewis lights the torch at Gotham FC game, igniting joy in our hearts as the NWSL regular season resumes 🗽

I. NWSL IS BACK, BABY 🇺🇲

a. The NWSL regular season is back with another new record: Orlando Pride hasn’t lost a game in 322 days, marking the longest unbeaten streak in league history with their 18th-straight unbeaten game. Not even Houston keeper Jane Campbell’s seven saves could keep the Pride from a 1-0 victory in Houston, as 24-year-old Pasco, Wash. midfielder Summer Yates notched her fifth goal of the season to clinch the win. 

b. Washington Spirit moved into second place with a statement win over Kansas City Current, as an already good team got even better (with new signings and Jonatan Giráldez officially stateside) over the summer. The 4-1 victory in D.C. featured Croix Bethune’s 10th assist, (bringing her level with Tobin Heath’s NWSL record for total assists in one season), Trinity Rodman’s sixth goal of the year, as well as a goal and assist for newly signed Colombia star Leicy Santos in her regular season debut for the Spirit. 

c. In SoCal, the Landon Donovan managerial era with San Diego Wave started off with a 2-1 loss to Angel City FC, as 19-year-old Alyssa Thompson’s elite brace of goals reminded viewers of her remarkable talent. Team USA gold medalists Naomi Girma (excused absence) and Jaedyn Shaw (thigh) were both absent in the defeat. San Diego fans will hope they return soon, as the 11th-place Wave have tough tests in the coming weeks (Washington Spirit on Sept 1. and North Carolina on Sept. 8), and there’s just nine games left to make a case for the playoffs. 

d. Seattle Reign celebrated the career of USWNT and Seattle legend Megan Rapinoe this weekend, as the club retired Pinoe’s No. 15 jersey before 16,598 fans at Lumen Field. That’s the second-highest regular season attendance in Seattle history. Honoring the occasion, Seattle claimed their third win of the year with a 1-0 victory over North Carolina Courage. The match-winning goal came in the 97th minute, as 18-year-old Emeri Adames forced the own goal, then hit the iconic Rapinoe 2019 World Cup stance to celebrate. 

More: ‘Seattle Reign retire Megan Rapinoe’s No. 15 jersey’

Even more: 🏆 A lot of our gold-medal-winning players are back in action and we have some new TWG shirts to celebrate. 👕

II. Chelsea claims 1-0 win over Arsenal in front of over 17,000 in Washington D.C. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇺🇲

a. Despite multiple injuries (including Australian striker Sam Kerr and U.S. talents Mia Fishel and Cat Macario), heavy rotation (Chelsea made 11 subs while Arsenal made six) and the decision to rest star talent Lauren James, Chelsea picked up a 1-0 win over London rivals Arsenal in Washington D.C. this Sunday. New signing Sandy Baltimore came off the bench and fired in the match-winner in the 48th minute. With new manager Sonia Bompastor at the helm, the reigning WSL Champions seem sure to contend again this season, as they close out their U.S. tour with a second straight win after defeating NWSL’s reigning Champions, Gotham FC, 3-1 last Monday. 

b. Arsenal has plenty of talent on their end as well. They’ll depart the U.S. with a 2-1 win over a formidable Washington Spirit and closely-fought contest against their cross-London rival Chelsea. Still, there is much left to work on with new players and other questions as they prepare to qualify for the Champions League next month. 

More: ‘From young talent to Blues’ scary depth: key takeaways from Chelsea vs Arsenal’

c. With many U.S. fans showing interest in the international game, 17,130 supporters showed up at Audi Field in Washington D.C. to watch Chelsea vs Arsenal. That’s a bigger crowd than came out to see Arsenal play their local club Washington Spirit (15,062), evincing both the stateside popularity of WSL, as well as the potential appeal of playing more games here. 

More: ICYMI, we hosted a live show in NYC with Chelsea last week. CHECK IT OUT HERE. 

III. NEW NWSL CBA DROPS THE DRAFT AMID LEAGUE SHAKEUP 📝

Player autonomy just got even stronger in NWSL. In a surprise update to the league’s historic Collective Bargaining Agreement that was set to expire in 2026, the Players Association has reached a new agreement with NWSL. Announced last Thursday, the updated CBA extends until 2030, and has officially nixed the collegiate draft, putting the league in line with global standards and providing players with more say in where they’ll play professionally. The new CBA will operate with unrestricted free agency, ensuring all players must agree to any trade, and will increase team salary caps while raising minimum salaries from $48,500 to $82,500 by 2030. The CBA also stipulates new requirements to ensure player health and safety, including increasing the minimum number of health staff, and calling for charter flights. 

More: ‘NWSL scraps draft in new CBA, a first in U.S. but typical elsewhere in soccer’

Also: The NWSLPA has released its free agency list for the upcoming off-season. Read more on 2025 free agency here.

IV. News and Notes 📰🗞️

a. As part of Arsenal’s visit to the United States, the London-based club teamed up with DC Scores, a local organization founded in 1994 that develops “poet athletes” at over 60 schools in the area, to bring together football and the creative arts. Arsenal’s team held a poetry masterclass with students from Bancroft Elementary. Arsenal has worked with DC Scores in past US visits as well. 

b. Reggae Girlz star striker Khadija “Bunny” Shaw wins WSL Player of the Year after a 21-goal season with Manchester City, despite missing the final weeks of the season due to injury. 🇯🇲

c. Multiple international teams are making coaching changes post-Olympics. That includes the expected departure of France manager Herve Renard, whose replacement is confirmed as Laurent Bonadéi. Nadeshiko Japan, who fell to the U.S. in the quarterfinal, will also see a coaching change as Futoshi Ikeda is stepping down at the close of his contract. 🇫🇷🇯🇵

d. The summer of international club friendlies continued over the past week with more exciting WSL vs. NWSL matchups. Emma Hayes' former club Chelsea beat reigning NWSL champions Gotham FC 3-1. The match featured a Johanna Kaneryd brace in the opening 20 minutes and Jess Carter scoring her first Gotham FC goal against her former club. 🇺🇲🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

e. As the NWSL regular season picks back up, some big intraleague summer transfers have taken shape. That includes veteran Canada forward Janine Beckie moving to Racing Louisville from Portland Thorns, where she will be joined by Seattle Reign striker Bethany Balcer. 🔄 (ICYMI: WE INTERVIEWED BOTH PLAYERS ON OUR FRIENDLIES POD. WATCH SAM CHAT WITH BETHANY BALCER HERE, AND JANINE BECKIE HERE.) And just today, San Diego Wave traded their first-ever signing, the USWNT's World Cup winning centerback Abby Dahlkemper to Bay FC.

V. Parting Shots 💉🥃

“It’s so important we have this opportunity to connect with our communities here. The poet-athletes here today look up to role models like Emily Fox, and when you can connect with your role models it gives you the belief that you can make it anywhere.” — Arsenal head coach Jonas Eidevall on the importance of Arsenal’s athletes taking time to work with poet athletes in Washington D.C.

VI. Good Reads 📚

a. From Emma Sanders in BBC, ‘We don’t have to choose between babies and football’.

b. From Suzanne Wrack in The Guardian, ‘No more excuses as Jonas Eidevall enters crucial campaign with Arsenal’.

c. From Tom Garry in The Guardian, ‘Nikki Doucet on WSL: ‘We want the world’s most distinctive club competition’’.